Work Experience & Volunteering

Work experience placements are an ideal way for people to gain an understanding of the world of work and to develop a range of skills and knowledge which they will find invaluable in their future. For the council, work experience placements help us to help individuals, whatever their background, to recognise the core skills required for particular job roles. Work experience placements provide participants with a general understanding of a work setting over a short period of time. 

They can only be used for students working as a required part of a UK-based further or higher education course if the placement doesn't exceed 1 year, students who are of compulsory school age or a placement that does not involve any work being performed, such as work shadowing where someone is only there to observe. Work experience can also be provided to participants in government schemes or programmes which are approved by HR&OD.

Volunteering 
People may have various motivations to volunteer at the council, such as philanthropy, personal, gain experience, update skills, or career development. Volunteering should be used for any other placement such as school leavers or older workers requiring work experience.

Internships
Internships are educational and career developmental opportunities providing practical experience in a field or discipline. They are structured, short-term, supervised placements often focused around particular tasks or projects with defined timescales.

If you would like an opportunity of a work placement, please complete and return the following form to wepr@doncaster.gov.uk giving the details of what area you would like to work in and the dates you will be available. We can then check whether we can offer you a place.

Placements are dependent on resources and availability. Unfortunately the submission of an application does not guarantee a placement.

Work Experience Volunteering Application form

Download (49KB - DOCX)

City of Doncaster Council, along with lots of other organisations, have adopted a more hybrid style of working which means some of our teams now work from home meaning traditional face to face may not be possible. More information in relation to the style of placement will be discussed with the placement manager during interview. 

The second virtual insight event was held on Wednesday 25 May 2022 via Microsoft Teams with a focus on colleagues from Adults, Health and Wellbeing. Please see the recording of the event below:

Our first virtual insight event was held on Wednesday 9th March via Microsoft Teams and was extremely well received by all. 

The aim of the event was to give people a flavour of the breadth of different careers available at the Council with the first event focusing on the following areas:-

• Colleagues from our Street Scene team talking about how they keep the borough cleaner and greener. This team covers lots of different areas, here is a flavour. Tree's, play equipment, graffiti, fly tipping, the list goes on..... 
• Colleagues from Highways, Waste and Infrastructure. This team deals with all things construction and includes highways inspections, bridges, flood risks, just to name a few.....
• Colleagues from Regulation & Enforcement who deal with pollution, enforcement, food safety, trading standards, the list goes on........
• Colleagues from our Legal team

Below is a recording of the event.

If you are interested in any opportunities within these area or wider, please take a look at the opportunity bulletin OR councils job's page for more information. Alternatively email WEPR@doncaster.gov.uk

We are currently working on our next virtual insight event, so please keep checking this page for updates.

 

To give you a flavour of the various roles available at the Council, click on the videos below where you will hear from our employees, talking about a typical day in their role.

We will be changing the video on a regular basis.

• City of Doncaster Council's public liability insurance covers those individuals on placements within the council.
• Data Protection training - It is a legal requirement that the appropriate Data Protection training is carried out. You will be made aware of this during your induction.
• Disclosure & Barring Service Checks (DBS) - for some placements it may be appropriate to complete a Criminal Records Check, known as a DBS check. You will be advised if a DBS is required and it must be in place before the placement can begin.
• Further clearances - where a business area is subject to inspection there may be additional checks and documentation which need to be in place and kept on file. You will be advised if this is required.
• Hours & Rest Break - Will be mutually agreed However, a minimum break of 30 minutes must be taken after more than 6 hours or 4.5 hours for workers under 18 years old.
• Once an offer of a placement has been made you will receive appropriate agreements to sign and date. This will provide you with details and your responsibilities during your placement.